Crispy Ginger Beef

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb flank steak or sirloin steak, sliced into narrow strips
  • 3/4 cup cornstarch
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 large carrot, julienned
  • 3 green onions, chopped
  • 1/4 cup fresh ginger, minced
  • 5 cloves garlic, minced
  • canola oil
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 4 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1/2 cup sugar

Preparation:

  1. Place cornstarch in a large bowl.
  2. Add water gradually while whisking.
  3. Beat eggs into cornstarch mixture.
  4. Toss in beef and stir to coat.
  5. Pour 1 inch of oil into pan (I used a pot, it helps cut down on splashes), heat until boiling hot, but not smoking.
  6. Add a quarter of the beef to the oil.
  7. Separate with a fork and cook, stirring frequently, until crispy, Remove, drain on paper towel and set aside.
  8. Repeat until all the beef is cooked.
  9. Drain off all oil except for about 1 tablespoons and add carrots, onion, ginger, and garlic in that order.
  10. Stir fry briefly over high heat.
  11. Combine last 5 ingredients and add to vegetable mixture.
  12. Bring to a boil and then add beef.
  13. Heat through and serve immediately.

Source: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/CRISPY-GINGER-BEEF-50004915

Chicken Satay Noodle Recipe

This is one of my family’s favourite meals. Whenever I tell my son that I’m making stir fry, this is the one that he wants.

Ingredients:

  • 400 grams Hokkien noodles
  • 1/4 cup of water
  • 2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
  • 2 tbsp chunky peanut butter
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1 tbsp cooking oil
  • 500 grams chicken cut into cubes
  • 1 medium sliced onion
  • 2 medium finely diced carrots
  • 1/2 green sliced pepper / capsicum
  • 2 tsp crushed garlic
  • 1 tsp minced ginger

Heat the cooking oil in a large wok. Add the onion, ginger and garlic and stir fry until the onion starts to soften. Add the diced chicken to the wok and continue to stir fry until the chicken has started to brown. Then add the carrots and the pepper / capsicum and continue to stir fry until they have fully cooked through.

Then add the water, sweet chili sauce, peanut butter, soy sauce and rice vinegar to the wok and stir it all through. Once stirred through add the hokkien noodles and stir until the noodles are fully heated through.

Easy Chinese Fried Rice Recipe

This is a family favourite that can be cooked quickly and varied a lot depending on what vegetables and meat are available in the house.

Ingredients:

  • 3 – cups cooked rice (4 – cups is probably better, but we only have a 3 – cup rice cooker)
  • 1 – cup frozen peas
  • 1 – cup frozen corn
  • 4 – rashers short cut bacon
  • 2 – boneless chicken thigh filets
  • 2 – tablespoons Cooking Oil
  • 2 – eggs
  • 2 – sliced or julienne carrots
  • 1 – brown onion
  • 1/2 – red or green capsicum
  • 2 – teaspoons sesame oil
  • 3 – tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 – teaspoons sugar
  • dash of pepper
  • 2 – cloves or 2 – teaspoons of crushed garlic
  • 1 – teaspoon of crushed ginger

Instructions:

Start by putting 1 – tablespoon of the cooking oil into a heated wok and swirl to coat it. While it is heating break your 2 – eggs into a bowl and mix, then pour the egg into the wok and swirl around to make a thin omelette. After it is cooked take it out and let it cool before cutting it into thin strips.

Heat the rest of the oil over medium – high and add the onions and carrots. Cook them until they are soft and then add the chicken and bacon. Stir fry until the chick is no longer pink and is cooked through.

Add the garlic, ginger, peas and corn and continue to stir fry until they are warmed. Then lower the heat to medium and add the rice and stir until it is also warmed through. Add the sugar, sesame oil, soy sauce and pepper and stir through.

There you go. I can usually cook this one from start to finish in about 30-minutes, which is nice.

I will quite often make this one without the chicken as well if I don’t have any available. You can substitute in any other meat that you have around, or just stick with the bacon (that’s what I did last night).

You can also substitute or add any decent stir fry vegetable that you have around. One of my favourites to add to this recipe is snow peas.